All About Fine Chocolate by Cat Black

  • The Curlew – The Chocolate Project Launches!

    July 16, 2013

    My work with a fantastic restaurant comes to its delicious fruition.

    The Chocolate Project

    Over the last few months I have been engaged in a hugely enjoyable collaboration with Andrew Scott, wonderfully talented Head Chef of Michelin starred restaurant The Curlew in Bodiam, East Sussex. I have been tweeting and writing about the work in progress, and it has been hard to contain my excitement about the project. What a thrill to hang out in Andrew’s kitchen, bring my knowledge of fine chocolate to such a receptive ear and palate,...

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  • Rococo Chocolate Tempering Masterclass with Barry Johnson

    July 2, 2013

    The Principal Chocolatier of the award-winning Rococo now runs some exemplary classes.

    Rococo Bar

    A morning spent in Rococo’s kitchens with Principal Chocolatier Barry Johnson? That’ll be a yes please! It was my great pleasure recently to bring you an interview with Chantal Coady, founder and CEO of pioneering Rococo Chocolates. Rococo celebrated an admirable 30 years in March, and due to Chantal’s visionary leadership is still a leading light and going from strength to strength. Very much part of that strategy and achievement is Chantal’s appointment of the most...

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  • Mikkel Friis Holm, multi award winning chocolate maker.

    June 18, 2013

    Put simply, I love Friis Holm’s chocolate, and you will too.

    4 Friis Holm Bars

    When Mikkel Friis Holm took to the stage at Chocolate Unwrapped he left no one in any doubt how he felt about chocolate. He was at pains to emphasize the pleasure and the sensuality that chocolate’s unique cocktail of flavours and texture bring. He was cheeky and light-hearted in his presentation of his own glorious wares. His joy and jolly demeanour are not a stage act; his is genuinely infused with enthusiasm and delight for...

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  • Mott Green 1966-2013

    June 4, 2013

    My interview with Mott from late April, published now in his memory.

    Grenada Chocolate 82

    David Friedman, known to all as Mott Green, was one of a kind, that rare individual who through his purity of vision and dynamism, created something quite exceptional. Both with his chocolate and in his person Mott touched and inspired all who met him. It is with shock and deep sadness that I learnt of his untimely death. Waking on Sunday to the news was surreal, and the absolute tragedy of his loss is profound. His...

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  • The Curlew’s Chocolate Pudding, a thrilling work in progress.

    May 21, 2013

    A first report on my collaboration with Michelin starred restaurant The Curlew in Bodiam.

    Sticky Toffee Souffle

    The wonderful thing about being a food writer is sharing secrets and discoveries. That could be a recipe, or spreading the word about the extraordinary, world-class delicacies that I come across in my travels as a chocolate expert and judge. There is finer, more diverse, more complex, more refined chocolate being made now than ever before. And it is my joy to bring other foodies to the party, show them the light. It is an even...

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  • The International Chocolate Awards 2013

    May 7, 2013

    I report back from the European semi-finals of this prestigious awards as a newly appointed member of the Grand Jury.

    Awards sign

    Springtime means awards season, and the eyes of the world look to see what is going to lead the way, what will be lauded, and what given that all important gold. I am not talking about that famous gold statuette, but the gold medals of the International Chocolate Awards. While those across the pond shook out their silks and were abstaining from anything more than a lettuce leaf in anticipation of the world’s press and...

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  • Jacques Genin – a favourite among Paris chocolate shops.

    April 23, 2013

    An obsession with freshness and ‘thinking like a chef’ have forged a stunningly good chocolatier from this self-taught workaholic.

    JG Ganaches

    The night after my rendezvous with Jacques Genin I dreamt about his chocolates. I dreamt about wandering through his calm and ordered kitchens, the cool marble tops dotted here and there with his exquisite creations. I dreamt that he was sitting opposite me, as he had been that afternoon. His insightful was gaze fixed upon me across a table in the serene elegance of his spacious café, while I tasted his chocolates. And in my...

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  • A Masterclass with Mark Tilling – UK Chocolate Master 2006-2009

    April 9, 2013

    I had a productive and enjoyable two days with the technical wizard.

    split caramel

    Mark Tilling held the title UK Chocolate Master for four years. He has twice beat off the home competition and gone on to represent the UK in the bi-annual World Masters. After two goes you are obliged to stand aside and give someone else a chance. And Mark is a generous soul so since achieving overall 7th in his second Masters, with his entremet and his showpiece marked even higher at 4th, he has devoted...

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Cat Black

Cat BlackI am a food writer, with special interest in, and huge enthusiasm for, chocolate! This blog is where I get to tell you about all the wonderful tastes, events, and people I come across in the world of chocolate.

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